Breaking Shackles
by i wright my mind
Summary: Is it possible for an abused soul to trust and a tattered soul to love again? After starting a new life in Paris Selina has decided to change and leave her past behind. When a hopeless Bruce wanders to her door step will she take him in or throw him out? It is clear Bruce has not left his past behind. Will Selina be able to break the shackles holding him down? Need Beta
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story. I will try to update ether once a week or ever other week regular updates will start after May 31. If you have any ideas for what direction you think the story should head tell me. Since this is not a prewritten story I am open to any ideas you have! Please review! Oh and Beta needed! I will also post a link or links on my page for pictures of things I do not describe like her bakery.**

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It had been a year since I left Gotham and Selina Kyle behind. Now I was Tiffany Claws who lived in Pairs and owned a bakery. When I had said I wanted to leave my old life behind I meant ever word of it …. well for the most part. I started a business two days after I arrived in Paris. I was walking along the street just enjoying the fact that I was finally free when I came to a for rent shop with a small apartment above it. I looked through the glass and noticed that it was already renovated as a bakery. I had not thought much about what I wanted to do with my life now that I was free but this had seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Thats when the idea hit me. I had the chance to be something so far from what Selina Kyle had been and I grabbed the opportunity to. I pulled out my disposable cell phone and dialed the number from the sign in the window. An elderly women answered the phone and I said what I needed to to get the shop. I made up this story of how I left an abusive boyfriend in America and was starting over with nothing at all. The elderly woman gobbled it all up. She had a daughter who was once in an abusive relationship and said she understood and that she knew all I needed to do was get my life back on track again. It all went as planned and we made a deal. She would pay for my supplies the first month and I would give her rent at the end of the month plus 40 euros. I was then going to give her 40 plus euros every month until I had paid her of for the supplies she bought me the first month.

I enjoyed my new life. There was no hiding and running. Sometimes it was hard to live a life that was what most considered "normal" sometimes I missed the excitement and adrenaline of my old life but I was not going to let that ruin my chance of starting over.

The day started out like any other. I woke up at four A.M. to the screech of my alarm clock. Reaching over to press snooze like I always did only I may have slammed my hand down a little to hard and broken the clock. This was not the first time something like this had happened and would not be the last. I rolled over in bed and sighed sitting up. Taking a moment to let the sleep leave me and got up to go get ready for the day. Twenty minuets later I was down in my bakery with ten bowls lined up in front of me and all the ingredients behind me. Each bowl would make between ten or twenty loafs depending on the size of the pan I put them in.

By six A.M. I had made enough bread to last me till noon among other freshly baked pastries. I was setting out the muffins and pastries for the morning crowed when I felt a strange sensation roll up my spine. I turned my head to look through the glass windows and out to the dark night moving my hand to the gun I always kept strapped to the inside of my thigh. What can I say once paranoid always paranoid old habits die hard. My eyes had always been well adapted to the dark for obvious reasons so without trouble I saw the figure hunched over in front of my door and immediately became alert. Though as they say curiosity killed the cat. I made my way over to the door and opened it with a quick jerk making the crippled figure fall through the door and land on the floor with a soft thud. From the figures build I could tell it was a man, a very well built man at that. He was wearing all black and a ski mask. Typical, probably some amateur robber. I was about to kick his upper half that was laying in my bakery out and slam the door and wait for someone else to find him. But then I noticed the shape the man was in. When I looked back to his chest I could see many deep gashes and what appeared to be stab wounds. I decided I would stitch him up with my first aid kit then drop him off somewhere leaving a tip for the police.

There was an ache in my heart. What if he was from the same situation I had been in?Taking a moment to consider the risk of helping him I sized him up and judging from his condition knew that he would not be a threat to me. I could easily take him down if the need that came. I decided to not even think about if someone had found me and was trying to get me. I looked out on to the street and made sure no one was there before I pulled the mask figure in from under his arms and dragged him into the storage room behind the counter. I went back out and made sure he had not left any blood on my floor. Satisfied with the shiny hardwood floor I went to the door beside the storage room and up the stairs behind the door. Once I located my first aid kit I went back down stairs.

As I got down on my knees and leaned over the figure the first thing I did was take his mask off. Not expecting that my world would drop out from under me like it did when I saw who the figure was.

"Bruce." I whispered in shock.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just to let you guys know I am currently making a model of her apartment on Autodesk homestyler so you can see her apartment set up. Also Selina's mind is only focussing on necessities in this chapter so that is why she does not question things around her. **

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I do not know how long I sat on my knees and stared down at the man in front of me. Bruce's face had bruises and scratches everywhere but there was no mistaking it was him. I was not ready for the feelings that flooded through me. I thought that I had locked those feelings all away never to be opened again. My chest began to tighten at a rapid pace and all the sudden I felt weaker than I ever have before. I remembered the last time I saw him like it had happened an hour ago instead of a year ago.

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I knew this was it. I knew that there was no possible chance that I would ever see him again. So I kissed him. As I crushed my lips to his my heart warmed without my consent. The feeling of his rough lips against mine awoke feelings I had promised myself never to feel. There was nothing romantic about the kiss but that did not mean that it meant nothing. I wrapped my arm around his neck wishing I could have run my hands through his hair, stupid mask. I bask in his smell for a moment. Enjoying the shiver that his fresh and sweet yet musky cave scent brought. All to soon the moment was over. As I knew there was no time left, I made myself let go.

I watched him walk away and climb into his bat helicopter thing. I stood frozen as I watched him speed off towards his death. I turned around right before the explosion. Not once did I look back as I ran.

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I came back to reality as Bruce grunted. I looked down at him and saw that he was weakly opening his eyes. Only for a second did I see his hazel eyes because as soon as he whispered my name they closed. Though I could have sworn I saw relief in his eyes.

"Selina."

Though his voice was barely audible the usual adrenaline that his voice brought me pumped through my veins. All I wanted to do was run and never look back. I did not want to deal with this I had just gotten a fresh start and was doing good and with in minuets that was all crushed. I was breaking the promise I made to myself a year ago to never have anything to do with Bruce again which meant blocking off every memory of him I had. That promise to myself was the only thing that had kept me sane as well as from going back to Gotham and finding out what had happened to him.

I did the only thing I knew how to do in a situation like this, I shut off all emotions in order to begin thinking rationally again.

A single tear fell down my right cheek as I looked at the wounds on his chest that looked to be a couple hours old. I took a deep breath trying to prepare myself for what could lie under the shredded shirt. I reached out and with both hands gently pulled his black T-shirt up to the bottom of his sternum. What I saw caused me to gasp. My eyes were drawn to a 5 inch gash above his belly button that looked to be and inch and a half deep. I quickly leaned over the first aid kit opening it and grabbing out wound wash and tweezers.

I leaned over his stomach glad that I had put my waist long hair in a bun this morning. As I gently pulled the wound open to look in it I was thankful for my good eyesight. I spotted three pieces of glass and pulled them out with the tweezers before squirting wound wash in it. His stomach muscles began to tense and then he let out a short moan as the liquid splashed the gash. I looked up at his face seeing that his eyes were still closed.

"I have to do this." I said more to myself then to him.

I searched through the first aid box for the rest of the supplies I would need. As I tied a string to a needle I could not help but think that the last time I had stitched something up was more than a year ago. I got to work sewing up the gash and in a couple minutes I was done. I sat back to admire my good handy work before getting started on another gash by his right hip. I had cleaned and stitched four gashes when the door opened and Carter my only employe walked in. I had completely forgotten about her my brain seeming to have to have scrambled as soon as I realized who the stranger was. Carted stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the scene in front of her. I really hoped that she did not start screaming forcing me to silence her.

"I was wondering why the shop was not completely set up yet." Her reaction surprised me. "Let me help you get him up stairs so there is no chance of anyone else walking in on this." Carter said in a casual tone as she walked over and got on the other side of Bruce.

"Your not screaming?" I said as I cleaned my hands off on Bruce's shirt that I had finally removed a couple minutes ago.

"Okay Bruce we are going to be moving you up stairs. Can you walk some?" I ask leaning down cupping his face with my hands not even sure he could hear me.

I got my answer when he tried to sit up. Carter and I were immediately supporting Bruce and helping him up. Since the stairs were to narrow for us to go up even two at a time Carter got behind Bruce and I got in front of him. We took it one step at a time. Three steps up and bruce lays his head on my shoulder groaning. I try not to focus on the weight of him and hoe it makes me feel but I can't help wanting to get closer to him. I shut that thought down before I can even finish it. I need to get him cleaned up and only then can I actually think about the situation I am in. Otherwise nothing I will not be in the state of mind to help him. We finally make it up through my apartment and lay him on my bed.

"I'll go get the kit down stairs and some other stuff for you." Carter says and as soon as she finishes talking she is gone not waiting for a response.

While I waited for the supplies to continue fixing him up I moved to the end of the bed and took his shoes off. Carter appeared as soon as I finished taking of his shoes and placed the first aid kit and some damp towels on the bed beside Bruce.

"Just so you know I will not tell anyone of this," She said gesturing to Bruce on the bed. "I will also not ask questions because when you grow up in a Mafia you learn the less you know the better. Now if you need me I will be downstairs." I stared in shock at Carter as she left the room. I never would I have guessed that she had anything to do with the mafia but it would explain . . . a moan coming from Bruce brought me out of my current thoughts and back to reality. I will have to deal with Cater later right now Bruce needs me.


	3. Chapter 3

**There is a picture of Carter on my profile. And just saying that I know nothing about mafias at all so if something I say is not right about the mafia now or in the future just comment and I shall change it. I forgot to say in the first chapters author's note that I own nothing just my own ideas. Also I am still warming up to writing from Selina's perspective and how she would react in this situation so if something seems completely out of character for her sorryyyy. Though Selina character is slightly different in this fan fiction then in the movies only because when she thought Bruce died her world turned upside down (at least for this story it did). Though as the story goes on she has not changed that much just some.**

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As I worked on Bruce I had tuned everything out. In all it had taken close to two hours to clean every cut, stitch and bandage up Bruce. At one point I had to roll him on to his back to reach the rest of his wounds. Once I was done I pulled the covers over him and let him sleep. After I cleaned up everything I had washed my hands and walked down stairs.

"The last of the breakfast crowd just left." Carter said while wiping off the counters as she heard me approach her.

As Carter spoke I considered everything I knew about her checking to see if there were any hints that she was involved with the mafia. I remembered the day that I hired Carter. Carter had walked into my shop three months ago. I had been getting busier and was already thinking about hiring someone. There were about twenty customers waiting in line and I needed to make more bread, so I was multitasking or at least attempting to. As I got people their orders ready and checked them out I would add ingredients to the several bowls I had placed on the counter. Next thing I know this women looking to be around my age walks up to the register and says "Considering you just put an ingredient in the whole wheat bowl that should have gone in the sour dough bowl I think you need help. Now move over." I hired her on the spot without even getting her name first. Ever since that day Carter has shown up at seven o'clock sharp on my doorstep. She would help make the complicated pastries that took forever and made sure we never ran out of fresh bread while I checked people out and managed the bakery.

There had not been any hint about her being in the mafia but then again I did not really know anything about her. Since I had hired her on the spot I did not get to see her résumé or even know if she had one. The reason that I never ended up firing Carter was because she was a good worker and never tried any small talk. I never ask personal questions and she never ask any ether. Since we did not talk much I resized I knew nothing about her, not even her age. As she turned around I gave her a questioning look.

"I realize that I might have some explaining to do if I want to keep my job." My response to Carter was just walking over to the sign that hung on the door and turned it over so that the closed side faced out on the street then sat down at one of the many empty tables. Carter came and sat across from me.

"First let me say that I have nothing to do with the mafia anymore thanks to my dad. My father was the leader of the Italian Mafia. Five years ago he was murdered as well as my mother. About six months before this all went down he realized someone was hunting him. He made preparations and one of them was to have me relocated and given a new identity for my own safety. So yeah... I can not give much detail because I could compromise my identity but I figured you needed to know my reasons for no longer being with the mafia. Now its your turn." At this point I was still on auto pilot refusing to acknowledge that any of this was actually happening.

"Where did you work before you started working here?"

"I did random jobs I was a waitress for a while but every so often a customer would piss me off and I would snap at them so that job did not last long. Then I was a babysitter but the kid went to its mom one day and said 'Damn' and I was fired. I mean I never actually cursed in front of the kid how was I supposed to know you do not say damn in front of a kid I mean is that even a cruse word. Anyway I had been unemployed for about two weeks when I wondered into your place. Now enough about me its your turn."

"My turn for what." I ask.

"To explain why I walked in to find you stitching up a half dead guy this morning." Carter said rolling her eyes.

"Shit that really did happen." I said dropping my head to hit the table. I might as well explain a little because Carter had risk her own safety already telling me some of her past.

"I thought he was dead. Last time I saw him he was flying off to explode." I said into the table. Emotional feelings starting to make there way back to me.

"So you two have never been involved with each other...?"

"No, very far from that actually."

"Sooo do explain."

"Nothing happened ..." I stopped mid-sentance as I heard a loud crash come from above.

Without a moment of hesitation I was out of my seat and running up stairs.

The scene in front of me surprised me. Bruce apparently had tried to stand up and it went terribly wrong. He was lying on the ground not looking comfortable at all. I was at his side in an instant as I heard him moan.

"Up we go. What were you trying to do anyway? Do not tell me you were already trying to walk around. Ugh your so stubborn." I said while hooking my arm around his and helping him back up on to the bed.

When I got him situated on the bed I finally looked into his hazel eyes and stood my ground preparing my self before I lost my nerve.

"As soon as you can walk without falling over you are out of here no exceptions." I said in a firm tone.

What surprised me was Bruce's eyes were almost expecting as if he knew I was going to throw him out the second he could walk. It almost made me feel bad for what I had just said but there was no way that I could let him get close to me. Him staying here until he got better was bad enough.

"I will just leave tonight. I would not want to be an inconvenience for you." Just hearing his voice comforted me. I guess it had something to do with not being alone. Having someone else around that knew about living a double life... wait what was I talking about I no longer lived a double life. It did not matter the reason I tried to shut down the comforting feeling his voice gave me but I was unlucky as the feeling just got worse. I finally processed what he was saying after my little mental argument.

"As long as your not planning on going out tonight again to the same place that put you in your current state. And you are also saying that have someone to take care of you when you get home, right?" A sudden wave of jealousy rolled through me. Was this person waiting at home for him another women? Wait... I seriously need to get myself in check I have no right to even know who he has waiting for him at home. Why should I be worried about him anyway?

"Well no but I have taken care of myself for long enough I think I can handle a few cuts and scrapes." At least he did not have a girl waiting for him I could not help the relief that I felt. Here I was again being selfish and overreacting what was it about him that always made me overreact . . . am I mentally rambling?

"Of course you do thats why you stopped by here this morning all cut up. Your staying here until you are healed end of discussion. By the way what were you doing anyway that got you so scratched up?" As soon as I said it I resized exactly what I had just agreed to ugh I am such an idiot he always does this to me. Whenever he is around I never think before a I say things and that is precisely why he has to go and soon.

"I stopped by this morning because I was already in the neighborhood I was just going to rest up here for a couple hours and be on my merry way." Bruce raised his voice just the slightest bit at the end and a coughing fit overcame him.

I was standing there hands on my hips about to yell at him for knowing where I lived when he coughed up blood. The next second I was on the bed at his side helping him turn over so he did not choke to death on his own blood. I felt Bruce's forehead for a fever just out of habit but stilled the moment I felt that he was burning up.

"Bruce your burning up and coughing up blood . . ." It all clicked in my mind as soon the words left my mouth. I called out for Carter knowing that she was probably in my apartment listening to our conversation.

"Yes Tiffany?" She asked coming through my bedroom doorway only to stop at the sight of Bruce.

"Call a doctor." I said hoping to God it was not to late.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

**Sorry! Life took and unexpected turn and I have not had time to edit anything until today. Tonight I tried to edit chapter 4 and found that half way through I had some major corrections that called for me to rewrite the last half of the chapter. So I ended up just copying the half that was edited and I am going to work on the other half some more before I upload it. **

_**IMPORTANT!**** READ THIS**_**For now I am going to put it as Chapter 4 part 1 and once I finish editing the second half of the chapter I will label that chapter 4 part 2. Though once I upload chapter 5 I will combine chapter 4 and upload it as one full chapter. Just in case it says I have updated but it looks to be the same amount o chapters I HAVE STILL UPDATED.**

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So much had happened in the last couple hours it was almost like I was living in a dream. As I sat at the kitchen counter in my apartment waiting for the doctor to finish up with Bruce I sipped on coffee that Carter had made for me before going downstairs.

As of now I think it is safe to say that my mind resembles scrambled eggs. For the first time since seeing Bruce this morning I finally have time to think . . . and I hate it. I have no idea what I am going to do about this situation that I am in. It seems that my mind is filled with questions more than anything else. What was Bruce doing that got him so beat up? How did he know where I was living? Has Bruce been stalking me? I want to run. My flight or fight instincts were kicking in. It seems old habits die-hard . . . very hard. I was having to force myself to stay seated and not just get up and run for it, leaving Bruce to deal with himself and allowing myself to forget about everything.

Just saying his name in my head brought feelings back that I wanted to strangle and throw out. I can steal a jewel that is under top security, I can sneak through the night undetected but can I handle being in the same room as him . . . no. Every other aspect of my life I have some what control over but this, this I have no control over. I can not control the feelings that flood through my body that come from being in the same area as him or the way my body seems as if it's pulled to him when he speaks. I can not handle feeling those things. My whole life, well most of it anyway, I have not let anything or anyone get so close to me that they affect my emotional or mental state of mind. Since in my earlier profession any type of attachment had meant certain troubles. I could not afford to be attached to someone or something for when something happened and I had to get out fast. My old life called for selfishness and being able to save myself at all times without worrying about others.

Now that I think about it though when Bruce is involved I let that "no attachment" rule go. I can not help but tie all my current problems to that one choice I made. Why could I have not just gone instead of helping him save the city. If I had just left and never looked back . . . no. Even now I know that I could have not done that. Knowing that Bruce would do anything to save Gotham and its people, but hoping that he would draw the line somewhere between giving up and going to far. Though deep down I know that my reason for going back was to stop Bruce from giving his life to save others. When I saw him though I knew I could do nothing to stop him. He was not a selfish creature and I was, he could have never seen view on things.

Taking a deep breath I forced my self out of my current train of thought. Reminding myself that I had changed since that night and that now my life no longer called for being selfish I could actually care for others no without having to worry about them being used against me or having to be selfish and save them when I should be saving myself. The only other thing that could be holding me back from letting me care for someone besides myself could be my childhood, but I refuse to think about that now.

Whats almost worse than my own mental distress is seeing Bruce go through all this. I mean Bruce is almost forty and he has put his body through hell and he just keeps doing it over and over. It is almost as if being hero is an addiction for him . . . hell it might be. That's another thing that makes it so hard. I have moved on and he has not and by the looks of it never will.

After Carter called the doctor she went back down to the shop and opened it so the lunch crowd could come. An hour later she came up to make coffee I still had not moved from my place at the kitchen table in my apartment when she came back two hours later and closed the shop a little early I think we all needed that today.

The doctor that came to do a check up on Bruce is the same doctor that sees me. He knows some of my old wounds are . . . to say the least strange and he never ask questions. When I ask him why he never ask about scars his response was so simple "That's not my job". Also a plus is that he only speaks french. I chuckled to myself, so unless Bruce had learned french in the year that we were apart which I doubt he had enough time to considering all it appeared he had been up to, the doctor would not be able to tell him anything.


	5. Chapter 4 Part 2

Dr. Gil speaks French but I hate having to scroll down to the bottom of the page to read translations when reading stories so I went ahead and just put it all in English.

- links to what her apartment looks like on my profile

- link of the pic of what Dr. Gil's description was based off of on profile

STILL need beta

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Just then the doctor walked out of my living room and into the kitchen. His name is Dr. Gil. Dr. Gil is a middle-aged man who I am not afraid to say is quite hot. The smile on his thin lips is always warm and inviting. With his blue-green eyes adding to the already kind portrayal of Dr. Gil's personality. As he entered the room I immediately stood up out of my chair and went to shake his hand. Dr. Gil smiled warmly at me as usual. I could not help feeling just a little of the tension I was holding dissipate as he smiled at me. If I had been able to choose a father for myself I would have chosen Dr. Gil, but instead I got . . . never mind that. I looked down at my watch and realized that Dr. Gil had been working on Bruce for a little over two hours.

"Thank you so much for coming to help. I have no idea what I would have done if you had not." I said looking directly at him trying to show him just how much coming last-minute here meant to me.

"Well when Carter was the one to call I knew something important was up. Anything for you Ms. Claw."

"So whats the verdict on him." I ask seeing worse case scenario run through my mind.

"Well his superficial wounds will probably be healed with in a week." I had not told Dr. Gil

"What about the blood he is coughing up?" I ask mentally crossing my fingers.

"Ah yes, I found the answer to that when I changed his clothes." Carter had ask for Dr. Gil to bring a set of men's clothes. I have no idea what I would do without Carter."Are you aware that he had knee replacement surgery recently?"

"No." Dr. Gil's question surprised me. How did Bruce manage to get surgery when he has no identity?

"Well he did and I am positive that is where the infection started."

"How long ago did he get the knee replacement?"

"From the way it looks two weeks ago or less."

"I am going to kill him . . ."

"Anyway, I am almost positive that the infection is the cause of not using sterile tools."

"So you are saying that the surgery was most likely done illegally?"

"From what it looks like, yes."

"Do you have any idea where he could have gotten this done?"

"I can find out for you."

"That would be appreciated."

"I also took a sample of his blood and I am going to test it myself to see if there is anything else that we are missing just to be safe."

"Thank you."

"Also I left a box of medical supplies in your room for changing his bandages. I also left some syringes full of the sedative I gave him when I first got here just in case you might need them."

"Thank you so much."

"Oh, and one other thing. While I was changing his clothes I found something in his pocket." He took out a small piece of folded paper and handed it to me. "I did not look at it just to let you know."

I nodded at him as I turned the piece of paper around in my hand observing that it looked to be a relatively new piece of paper and them opened it. At first glance it was evident that the writing on the paper was an address.

"I suspect I will take my charges out of the same account as always?" I barely even heard Dr. Gil because I was to wrapped up in my own thoughts wondering what this new discovery would lead to.


End file.
